Shade retarder



' wrrNEssM Mar. 20, 1923.

F. H. HELLUS SHADE RETARDER Filed June 20, 1922 W1 1 Fara/f 5. #611120 I I INVENTOR ATTORNEY Patented Mar. 20, 1923.

UNITED STATES FRANK H. HELLUS, OFTRENTON, NEW JERSEY.

SHADE RETARDER.

Application filed June 20,

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK H. HELLUS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Trenton, in the county of Mercer and State of New Jersey, have invented new and useful Improvements in Shade Retarders, of which the following is a specification.

Window shades such as at present in vogue are mounted on rollers, and the rollers, in turn, are mounted in brackets and are equipped with springs, the arrangement being such that when the shades are pulled downwardly the springs will be tensioned and when the shades are released the springs will operate to rotate the rollers and thereby take up the shades on the rollers.

Experience has demonstrated that in many cases when a shade is drawn downwardly and is then suddenly released, the ratchet mechanism also common to modern shade rollers fails to work and the shade flies up to the roller in a violent manner so that frequently the spring of the roller or a bracket are broken and often the shade roller is displaced from the brackets.

The object, therefore, of my said invention is the provision of simple, easily applied and efiicient means for retarding the rotation of a shade roller and the taking up of a shade thereon so as to prevent any violent action in the contingency indicated.

To the attainment of the foregoing the invention consists in the improvement as hereinafter described and definitely claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification Figure 1 is a front elevation showing my novel retarder in association with a mounted shade roller and shade.

Figure 2 is a vertical section taken in the plane indicated by the line 2-2 of Figure 1, looking in the direction indicated by arrow.

Figure 3 is a perspective of my novel retarder per se.

Similar numerals of reference designate corresponding parts in all of the views of the drawings.

The shade roller 1, the brackets 2 and 3, and the shade 4: may be and preferably are of the ordinary well known construction, not of my invention, as may also the spring and the ratchet equipment of the roller.

My novel retarder is by preference relatively arranged as shown in Figure 1 to the shade roller the shade and the brackets.

1922. Serial No. 569,739.

Among other elements the retarder comprises a bracket 5, designed to be fixedly connected to the face of the top bar of a window casing and having forwardly reaching arms 6. Carried by the said bracket 5 and preferably arranged on the upper portion thereof is a spring 7, the said spring being preferably in the form of a strip with its lower free portion normally spaced in front of the bracket 5 and possessed of a tendency to resume said position. In addition to the bracket 5 and the spring 7 my novel retarder comprises a lever member 8 pivotally mounted at 9 between and connected to the arms 6 and having an upper arm arranged in front of and opposed to the lower portion of the spring strip 7 and also having a lower arm 9. The said lower arm 9 is curved in conformity to the crosssection of the shade on the shade roller and is adapted to act after the manner of a brake shoe in checking or retarding the taking up of the shade on the roller with a view to precluding any violent action in the event of the shade being drawn downwardly and being then suddenly released. Manifestly the lever member 8 under the action of the spring strip 7 will serve a purpose indicated in an eflicient manner, and it will be understood that by adjusting the spring strip 7 the braking action of the lever member 8 may be increased or diminished as different conditions require. It will also be manifest that my novel retarder is susceptible of being cheaply produced, and is also susceptible of application to window casings and use in association with shade rollers and shades such as at present in use.

I have entered into a detailed description of the construction and relative arrangement of the parts embraced in the present and preferred embodiment of my invention in order to impart a full, clear and exact understanding of the said embodiment, I do not desire, however, to be understood as confining myself to the specific construction and relative arrangement of parts inasmuch as in the future practice of the invention various changes and modifications may be made such as fall within the scope of my invention as defined in my appended claim.

Having described my invention, What I claim and desire to secure by Letters-Patent, 1s:-

A retarder for window shades and shade rollers comprising a bracket, and a springmember being in the form of a lever one pressed member carried by the bracket and arm of which is subject to the action of the curved in conformity to a shade portion on spring and the other arm of which is curved 10 a roller and adapted by exerting yielding in conformity to a portion of a shade on the pressure against said shade portion to check roHer.

or retard the rotation of a shade roller and In testimony whereof I aflix my signature. the taking up of a shade thereon; the said FRANK H. HELLUS. 

